Form support for supporting a disposable mold form

ABSTRACT

A form support for supporting a disposable mold form. The disposable mold form is adapted to be mounted on a bond beam for forming a cement coping. The form support includes a tie wire and an elongate tube. The tie wire has a head, an elongate midsection, and an end portion. The elongate midsection and the end portion are separated by a weakened portion. The tie wire is adapted to be positioned through the disposable form mold such that the head abuts the disposable mold form, the elongate midsection extends through the disposable mold form, and the end portion extends over the bond beam. The elongate tube is shaped to fit around the tie wire such that the elongate tube extends from the head to the vicinity of the weakened portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the construction of swimming poolsand the like and, more particularly, to a form support for supporting adisposable mold form for molding a concrete coping along the upper edgeof a swimming pool.

2. Description of Related Art

In constructing a concrete swimming pool, the commonly followed practiceis to first build the upwardly extending concrete side walls and bottomwall therefor usually as an integer and by a technique known as thegunite process. After the concrete side walls have at least partiallycured, a water impervious layer, such as tile 20, is installed over theconcrete.

Once the tile 20 has been installed, concrete coping is formed on theupper portion of the concrete sidewall, known as the bond beam. Thecurrently preferred method of forming the concrete coping involves theuse of a disposable mold form is bonded to the tile 20 for forming the.This process is described in detail in Stegmeier, U.S. Pat. No.3,967,422, which is hereby incorporated by reference in full.

To support the disposable mold form, it is common to include a tie wirethat fits through the disposable mold form and is attached to an anchor,such as a nail driven into the concrete side wall. The tie wiretypically includes a weakened portion such as a notch that enables thetie wire to be broken and removed from the coping once the coping has atleast partially cured.

The problem with this approach is that the tie wire is sometimes notremoved until the coping has entirely cured, at which point the copingoften tends to bind to the tie wire and thereby prevent it from beingremoved from the coping. If a portion of the tie wire remains near thesurface of the coping, the remnant will corrode and expand, which inturn spalls the surface of the coping.

This problem has been addressed in the past with only partial success.Deason, U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,877, for example, teaches a device that isadapted to overcome this problem. The Deason device includes acontinuous strip of semirigid material and an elongate support memberfor maintaining the strip of material in position against the upperportion of the pool wall. The continuous strip of semirigid materialincludes a facing surface which is positioned below the horizontal pooledge against the upper portion of the pool wall; a front form surfaceextending upwardly from the facing surface to form a contoured surfacefor temporarily supporting concrete poured above the horizontal edgeonto the bond surface of the pool, the concrete forming a pool deck andcoping thereof contiguous to the pool wall when set; and, a back wallsurface generally opposed to the front form surface and facing thecentral area of the pool. The elongate support member passes through thecontinuous strip of semirigid material and is secured to the bondsurface of the pool to maintain the continuous strip in position againstthe pool wall.

While the Deason device is functional, it is expensive, requiring twomolded plastic parts. It is critical that this type of product be bothsimple to use and also inexpensive to manufacture.

The prior art teaches a tie wire form support. However, the prior artdoes not teach a tie wire that is surrounded by an elongate tube thatprevents the cement coping from binding to the tie wire. The presentinvention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantagesas described in the following summary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and usewhich give rise to the objectives described below.

The present invention provides a form support for supporting adisposable mold form mounted on a bond beam for forming a cement coping.The form support includes a tie wire and an elongate tube. The tie wirehas a head, an elongate midsection, and an end portion. The elongatemidsection and the end portion are separated by a weakened portion. Thetie wire is adapted to be positioned through the disposable form moldsuch that the head abuts the disposable mold form, the elongatemidsection extends through the disposable mold form, and the end portionextends over the bond beam. The elongate tube is shaped to fit aroundthe tie wire such that the elongate tube extends from the head to thevicinity of the weakened portion.

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a formsupport having advantages not taught by the prior art.

Another objective is to provide a form support that includes a tie wirethat is adapted to support the disposable mold form so that the weightof the concrete coping, once it has been poured, does not push thedisposable mold form out of shape, causing the concrete coping formed tobe misshapen.

A further objective is to provide an elongate tube that prevents thehardening concrete coping from adhering to the elongate midsection ofthe tie wire.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following more detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way ofexample, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In suchdrawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disposable mold form adaptedto be mounted on a bond beam of a swimming pool, and a form support usedto support the disposable mold form, the form support including a tiewire and an elongate tube;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational sectional view thereof once the tie wirehas been operably positioned through the elongate tube and thedisposable mold form, and anchored to a nail;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational sectional view of the disposable mold formand the form support once a cement coping has been poured; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational sectional view illustrating how the tiewire is broken and removed, with the aid of the elongate tube, from theat least partially cured cement coping.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, a formsupport 10 for supporting a disposable mold form 22 mounted on a bondbeam 14 for forming a cement coping 26 during the construction of aswimming pool. The form support 10 includes a tie wire 30 and anelongate tube 40, which are described in greater detail below

FIG. 1 illustrates how the disposable mold form 22 is mounted on thebond beam 14, which is formed by the upwardly extending side walls ofthe swimming pool. The bond beam 14, and the entirety of the upwardlyextending side walls, may be formed in any conventional manner, andordinarily are fabricated of concrete and integral with a bottom wall(not shown). The generally vertical or upwardly extending walls areenlarged somewhat at their upper ends to form the bond beam 14 which israther standard practice. The bond beam 14 has an upper edge 16 and aninner face 18 or surface. The inner face 18 has a water-imperviousfinish 20 secured thereto. The water-impervious finish 20 may be ceramictile attached to the inner face 18 in any usual manner as, for example,by means of adhesive or concrete bed mud, or it may be formed withanother coating known in the art. As stated hereinbefore, as respectsthese features and characteristics of the pool, they may be completelyconventional and per se form no part of the present invention.

The disposable mold form 22 is secured to the bond beam 14 adjacent theupper edge 16, along with a plurality of other mold forms (not shown).The disposable mold form 22 is preferably integral from end to endthereof, is elongated longitudinally, lightweight and may be formed of amaterial having myriad interstitial spaces therein as, for example, oneof the synthetic plastics such as the plastic material sold under thetrademark Styrofoam®. The disposable mold form 22 has a surface portion24 configurated in the finished shape to be imposed thereby upon thecement coping 26 molded thereagainst, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Theconfigurated surface portion 24 may have a reversely oriented, somewhatC-shaped disposition in cross section so that the coping 26 has slightlyrounded top and bottom edges; however, those skilled in the art maydevise various shapes, contours, and textures so that the coping 26formed will be aesthetically pleasing.

The disposable mold form 22 further has an attachment portion 28, whichfaces in the same direction as that of the configurated surface portion24, and is adapted to be attached to the tile 20 with a tape strip 29.The tape strip 29 may be a double-sided pressure-sensitive tapeadhesively secured along its other side to the finish of the bond beam14. The tape strip 29 may be substantially non-stretchable and, forexample, might be a fiberglass tape or an adhesive transfer tape. Thedisposable mold form 22 may be fabricated in the configuration shown inany suitable manner as, for example, by being machined from elongatedbar stock or, depending upon the particular material employed, might beextruded, foamed-in-place or otherwise molded.

In use of the disposable mold form 22 and in providing the concretecoping 26 along the upper edge 16 of a swimming pool, the inner face 18of the of the bond beam 14 is first equipped with the tile 20, as shownin FIG. 1. The disposable mold form 22 is provided with a tape strip 29along the attachment portion 28, and such strip may be attached at anytime (such as during production of the disposable mold form 22, orlater, at the construction site) by pressing one of thepressure-sensitive adhesive surfaces of the strip against theappropriate surface of the attachment portion 28. The tape strip 29could be secured to the section during manufacture, especially whereadhesive transfer tapes are employed or where the opposite face of thetape strip 29 has the adhesive thereon protected by a removable cover orcoating of some type.

The disposable mold form 22 has the opposite pressure-sensitive adhesiveface of the tape strip 29 pressed against the tile 20 with theconfigurated surface portion 24 of the section projecting above theupper edge 16 of the pool wall. As many of the disposable mold forms 22are used as is necessary to provide a continuous form about the sidewalls of the pool, and the sections are abutted along their adjacentedges.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tie wire 30 has a head 32, an elongatemidsection 34, and an end portion 36. The head 32 has a greater width orcross section than the remainder of the tie wire 30, and functions tosupportingly abut the disposable mold form 22. The head 32 may be formedfrom a bent portion of the tie wire 30 itself, as shown, or it may beprovided by another component that is attached to the tie wire 30.

FIG. 2 illustrates how the disposable mold form 22 is pierced with thetie wire 30, which is anchored for supporting the disposable mold form22. The tie wire 30 is adapted to support the disposable mold form 22 sothat the weight of the concrete coping 26, once it has been poured, doesnot push the disposable mold form 22 inwardly towards the center of theswimming pool, causing the concrete coping 26 formed to be misshapen.

The elongate midsection 34 and the end portion 36 are preferably formedby a metal wire, although other suitable materials and elongate shapesmay be used, and such alternatives should be considered within the scopeof the term “tie wire.” The elongate midsection 34 and the end portion36 are separated by a weakened portion 38, formed by a cutting,notching, perforating, or otherwise weakening of the tie wire 30 at theappropriate location. The tie wire 30 is adapted to be positionedthrough the disposable form mold, as described above, such that the head32 abuts the disposable mold form 22, the elongate midsection 34 extendsthrough and at least partially out of the disposable mold form 22, andthe end portion 36 extends over the bond beam 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the form support 10 further includes anelongate tube 40 shaped to fit around the tie wire 30 such that theelongate tube 40 extends from the head 32 to the vicinity of theweakened portion 38. The elongate tube 40 is preferably made of plasticsuch as polyethylene or polypropylene, although it could be made of anymaterial that resists binding with concrete once it has cured.

Finally, the form support 10 includes a means for anchoring 42 the endportion 36 of the tie wire 30. In one embodiment, the means foranchoring 42 is a nail 42. The nail 42 is driven into the bond beam 14and the end portion 36 is wrapped around the nail 42 or otherwisefastened to it. In alternative embodiments, the means for anchoring 42may be any suitable anchor, including screws, stakes, weights, or anyother anchoring, fastening, or bonding mechanisms known in the art.

As shown in FIG. 3, when all of the disposable mold forms 22 are inplace, a moldable mass of amorphous concrete is then spread against theconfigurated surface portion 24 of each section, as shown in FIGS. 3 and4, so that such configurated sections impose the desired finished shapeupon the coping 26. When the concrete mass defining the coping 26 hascured, at least to the point that it is self-sustaining, the disposablemold form 22 is ready to be stripped from its adhesive attachment to thebond beam 14.

As shown in FIG. 4, the form support 10 must first be removed to enablethe stripping of the disposable mold form 22. The head 32 of the tiewire 30 is grasped and twisted within the elongate tube 40, therebybreaking the weakened portion 38. The elongate tube 40 keeps theelongate midsection 34 of the tie wire 30 from contacting and bondingwith the concrete coping 26. Once broken, the head 32 and the elongatemidsection 34 of the tie wire 30, and the elongate tube 40, may beremoved from the concrete coping 26 and the disposable mold form 22,leaving the disposable mold form 22 free to be stripped from the bondbeam 14 and discarded.

While in the foregoing specification an embodiment of the invention hasbeen set forth in considerable detail for purposes of making a completedisclosure thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatnumerous changes may be made in such details without departing from thespirit and principles of the invention.

1. A form support for supporting a disposable mold form mounted on abond beam for forming a cement coping, the form support comprising: atie wire having a head, an elongate midsection, and an end portion, theelongate midsection and the end portion being separated by a weakenedportion, the tie wire being adapted to be positioned through thedisposable form mold such that the head abuts the disposable mold form,the elongate midsection extends through and at least partially out ofthe disposable mold form, and the end portion extends over the bondbeam; and an elongate tube shaped to fit around the tie wire such thatthe elongate tube extends from the head to the vicinity of the weakenedportion.
 2. The form support of claim 1 further comprising a means foranchoring the end portion of the tie wire.
 3. The form support of claim2 wherein the means for anchoring is a nail.
 4. The form support ofclaim 1 wherein the weakened portion is formed by a cut through at leasta portion of the tie wire.
 5. The form support of claim 1 wherein theelongate tube is made of plastic.
 6. A mold form system adapted to bemounted on a bond beam for forming a cement coping, the mold form systemcomprising: a disposable mold form adapted to be mounted on the bondbeam; a tie wire having a head, an elongate midsection, and an endportion, the elongate midsection and the end portion being separated bya weakened portion, the tie wire being adapted to be positioned throughthe disposable form mold such that the head abuts the disposable moldform, the elongate midsection extends through and at least partially outof the disposable mold form, and the end portion extends over the bondbeam; an elongate tube shaped to fit around the tie wire such that theelongate tube extends from the head to the vicinity of the weakenedportion; and a means for anchoring the end portion of the tie wire. 7.The mold form system of claim 6 further comprising a means for anchoringthe end portion of the tie wire.
 8. The mold form system of claim 7wherein the means for anchoring is a nail.
 9. The mold form system ofclaim 6 wherein the weakened portion is formed by a cut through at leasta portion of the tie wire.
 10. The mold form system of claim 6 whereinthe elongate tube is made of plastic.